Wyevale lone piggie

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Marty

Marty

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Julie and I went up to our local Wyevale store looking for a new shed and, believing that they don't sell pets anymore, popped in to the pet centre for a quick look around.

We were upset to find that not only are they still selling pets, but they had one lone male guinea pig, a golden agouti I think, in a fairly small hutch in what I would consider a fairly "damp" and uninviting environment. He didn't look neglected but only had a bowl of food, and some hay, for company (although he was surrounded by other cages containing various breeds of rabbits), and just looked very lonely. :( Neither Julie and I could quite bring ourselves to go against our principles and "buy" him but because he looked fairly old, ie not a baby, Julie enquired as to whether she could give them her number so that if nobody wanted him we could rehome him for free. The lady behind the desk looked at Julie with some disgust but took her number nonetheless, although I suspect she may have just thrown it away after we left (I'd like to think I'm wrong of course)

We both now feel guilty that we didn't part with the £15 and give him a home but if we did we would be going against our principles - Wyevale would just replace him with more piggies and we would be denying another rescue piggie a possible home (we are thinking about taking on one or two more in the not so distant future).

I know there's no right solution to this but I was just curious what other people would do, I'm going to be worrying about this little chap now and at the moment feel that, if I go back next week and he's still there, I may have go against my principles, part with the money and get him out of there.

Marty :(
 
Hi Marty,

It's tough isn't it? We have numerous petshops in Liverpool. The 'bad' one I am always harping on about, well they have made improvements lately but before that there was a big boar in, very much like Boomer in size and he was a sweetheart. Obviously ex breeding stock and over one year old. Peter wanted him but I said no because it went against what I then thought (once I had been educated on here that is)

But I still wonder about him, we fell inlove with him and now I wonder what happened to him. Personally if that situation arose again I would get the pig out of there. It's a heart verses head moment and my morals go out the window for pigs you fall in love with.

Sunshine is a golden agouti with aby! They are lovely pigs. :smitten:

Louise
 
I wish we hadn't gone there now... they didn't have any sheds that would suit our purposes anyway! :tickedoff:

We both thought that they had stopped selling pets, but they even had some tortoises in there which, I may be wrong, I thought you had to have a licence to sell!
 
I would wait and go back next week...if he is still there, say to the manager that you can offer a loving home but refuse to pay on your princiiples. If they say yes, you have a piggy and if they say no, you walk away :) It is hard but there are always deserving piggies that need a home :-\
 
I felt a bit cheeky when I made it clear that I wouldn't be paying for the pig, the woman behind the counter probably thought I was wanting him for free just because I didn't want to pay! We'll go in at a later date, but he wasn't a baby any more, real beautiful boy, probably about 6 months or more. At least he wasn't in with rabbits - but he was in a teeeeeeeny hutch with no hidey hole (she didn't look impressed when I suggested she put one in either) :(

Edited to add I thought I was imagining reading it before, but there is a page here which says that Wyevale is no longer selling live animals from 2006: http://www.animalaid.org.uk/h/n/NEWS/pr_pets/ALL/1361// Obviously decided to renege on that then...
 
When we see an occasional lone piggie in P@H, they are normally still fairly young and, in our local branch at least, seem to be very well looked after, with places to hide in and a number of toys scattered around the place, so it's not so hard to stick to your principles. But with this particular lad the hutch/cage was quite small and he had nowhere to "hide" from all the prying eyes, plus as I said, the environment was quite damp and unappealing. :tickedoff:

I may be tempted to ring them during the week and enquire as to whether he's still there.
 
hoping the little mite goes to a good home real soon O0 i would most probably buy him but OH my concious (sp) would say no. i would see if he is still there next week perhaps in the meantime contact the manager and explain you run a rescue for piggies and you would like to rehome their piggy and explain nicely that the cage was too small, no hidey holes etc. perhaps even give the manager the link to this site. perhaps contact your council, rspca and get as much information as you can O0 hoping things sort themselves out in favour of the piggy O0 hugs and good luck vibes for you and the piggy :smitten: :smitten: :smitten:
 
This kind of thing breaks my heart. I know what you mean about principles but i just think the poor piggie doesn't know that he would be replaced, he just knows he has an awful boring life and has probably spent years getting more depressed. I wish i had the heart to leave them but i cant :( i'd always be thinking there might be a chance they wouldnt get more pigs because it took them so long to sell that one. I hate to say it but pigs have a much better life in rescue than somewhere like that. Please dont hate me for saying that people, thats just how i feel :(
 
Yeap, a difficult one! Your heart ruling head type of situation.

I am pretty sure that they won't just give him to you, because at the end of the day, they are running a business to make money.

I know what you mean about you keep thinking about him. I reacted with my heart when I heard a breeder was just giving my little Princess away because she was blind ... I knew that I had to go and get her. She was offered to me free of charge but I gave the breeder £5, because I thought that perhaps it would buy some nice veggies for all the other piggies she had.

I don't regret getting Princess and then going back to get her sister. I thought of the life that she might have if I didn't give her a loving and caring home.
As a great believer in fate, ring up or pop in to Wyevale's during the week. If he is still there ... well, the choice can only be yours.
 
We've decided that we will pop in and see what happens, but I've emailed Wyevale with all these links:

http://www.diyweek.net/news/news.asp?id=10289&title=Wyevale+stops+selling+animals

http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-151807981.html

http://www.cavyrescue.co.uk/cgi-bin/news.pl?record=73

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/...after welfare pressure/article.do?expand=true

http://www.petrescue.com.au/informa...ppy_mills_pet_stores_and_designer_doggies/256

.....and asked them for a response - there are dozens of animal welfare organisations praising Wyevale for their ethically based decision, and these are just a handful! I've also emailed some of the organsitions involved to let them know that my branch is still selling. I'm very interested to hear what they say.
 
Naughty naughty Wyevale if they are saying that they don't sell animals but really do .... wonder if they have a license to sell them now? ::)
 
Good luck Julie. I hope you can get the little fella for free. He deserves a loving home. They all do. It's heart breaking! And if they are saying they aren't selling but are I would contact trading standards. ;)

Emma I agree with you. I know I go on about not buying from stores now, and Rescues and helping anyone on here is my first port of call but if a pig needed help I wouldn't hesitate at all! x
 
poor piggy

stories like this make me so sad, i really hope things work out and u get him for free. wish i could put the manager in a small cage and see how he likes it
 
Update on Wyevale Piggie

I went back last night to check on the Wyevale piggie, with only a possible intention of bringing him home, looked in his cage and discovered that it had two baby rabbits in it. "Perhaps he's found a home" I thought. However, upon checking the other hutches/cages I discovered they'd put him in a different cage with a large white rabbit. To say I was horrified was an understatement! The cage wasn't big enough for the rabbit by itself, let alone with a guinea pig! The rabbit was blocking access to the water bottle and he looked quite scared. How could they put him with a rabbit?

Needless to say he's now ensconced in a 1 metre cage in our living room. Although I tried to barter them down from the £15, stating he was quite old, they wouldn't budge, so despite my better judgement (and my principles) I parted with the cash and got him out of there.

He is apparently 13 weeks old, although he looks more like 4 or 5 months to me, is a golden agouti and apart from quite a large lump missing out of one of his ears appears to be in pretty good shape. I couldn't find any signs of mites or fungal and no apparent injuries so I'm hoping I got him out in time. The only advice the shop assistant gave me was if I was going to try and put him with another male piggie (that was my "story") to make sure I did it on neutral ground. No checks as to where he would be living, what we would be feeding him etc. and no contact details handed over. Until now I didn't realise just how little some pet shops aren't interested in the welfare of the animals they sell. :(

Anyway, apologies if I've upset anyone with this course of action, I don't like going against my own principles but when I saw him in with the rabbit I knew he had to come home with me.

He doesn't have a name just yet... but pictures will follow soon :)

Marty
 
i know it's frustrating having to go against your principles but i would of had to do the same, hope all goes well with him and cant wait to see some pics :)
 
good for you

good on you marty, you would think if shops like this wanted to sell pets they would do their research first as it is good for business if animals look and are well kept.
or are they making their animals ill so people will take pity on them and buy them? it just seems so strange to me that a shop bothers to sell pets and them have them in a small cage or with rabbits or in poor health.
i mean if a normal person went into the shop who is going to buy a sick looking piggy? it just doesn't make sense. but GOOD for you for saving him!
hoping he settles in well with you and has no health problems. sending hugs XXXXXXX
 
If this is the Wyevale i am thinking of, i too have emailed a complaint about the state of the rabbits there. I was told that although the pet section is inside, it is not affliated with Wyevale. Well done for getting him out x
 
You done the right thing Marty I would go against my principles as well. The welfare of animals to me far out weighs the profit margins of businesses! :)
 
Concession

JellyBelly said:
If this is the Wyevale i am thinking of, i too have emailed a complaint about the state of the rabbits there. I was told that although the pet section is inside, it is not affliated with Wyevale. Well done for getting him out x
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Julie contacted animal aid who replied back that although many of the Wyevale stores have stopped selling live animals, those that have a "concession" for an independant trader operating within their store they cannot stop them selling the animals until their lease runs out. I know for a fact that the pet section within this particular Wyevale is under a "concession" because you have to pay for anything in the pet section separately to anything bought within the rest of the store.
 
SunshineAndTwinkle said:
You done the right thing Marty I would go against my principles as well. The welfare of animals to me far out weighs the profit margins of businesses! :)
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Thanks Louise, it wasn't a hard decision once I discovered he had been put in with a rabbit.
 
Marty and Julie I'm so pleased that you got this little chap, just seen his picture he is gorgeous and i bet he is so pleased to be with you two and your boys.
 
So sorry that you had a bad experience with pet shops. I now avoid going in them wherever possible as i havent got the room to take in any more and i just end up feeling awful when i walk away.
 
Well done guys I knew you would go back for him Martin, he looks a stunning little chap.
 
Thanks for not jumping all over us guys, the pet shop thing is not something we would ever usually consider, but we were just in the wrong place at the right time (for little Xander at least!) We just couldn't leave him in that tiny hutch with a large rabbit for company and no hidey holes.

He's very nervous, bless him, but he's beginning to eat properly, so once he hears and smells other piggies (goodness knows how long he had been there without any guinea company) he seems to perk up and edge his way out of his little stick house to have a sniff and a nibble on some food, so I think he's starting to get used to us and the new boys Denny and Alan already!
 
Well done you two, you did the right thing. I'm so pleased he's with you, he wont believe his luck to go from that to what you can give him :)
 
Glad you got him in the end :) Out of interest, was it the Folkestone branch? I've been to that one and they where selling really young rabbits in the past :(
 
cashmincal said:
Glad you got him in the end :) Out of interest, was it the Folkestone branch? I've been to that one and they where selling really young rabbits in the past :(
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No, it was the one near Hempstead Valley Shopping Centre in Gillingham. Although Xander ( he has a name now :) ) was the only piggie there, they had quite a few rabbits as well as birds, fish, hamsters, Degus (I think) and rather oddly, Tortoises.
 
The reason I asked was because when I went there there was a seperate pet area there and I thought it might be that one.

I look forward to seeing photos of him :)
 
cashmincal said:
The reason I asked was because when I went there there was a seperate pet area there and I thought it might be that one.

I look forward to seeing photos of him :)
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There's already a thread for him in the photo gallery section :)
 
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